City of Delavan considers its Sho-Deen options

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DELAVAN—City officials still are considering how to respond to a court decision that might mean 600 new homes just outside the city.

Last week, the town of Delavan board approved the rezoning and conditional use permits necessary for the Sho-Deen Group's plan to build more than 600 homes on an estimated 285 acres. The land is located northwest of the Delavan Lake Inlet at the corner of County F and Mound Road.

The town action followed the District 3 Court of Appeals ruling the city of Delavan could not impose density limits on the subdivision in the town. The city had used its extraterritorial rights and denied a preliminary plat for part of the development. Sho-Deen took the city to court and won. An appeals court affirmed the lower court's opinion.

Delavan City Administrator Denise Pieroni said the city had not decided how—or even if—it will respond to the court's decision.

“We won't know anything until our meeting on March 11, when the city council meets,” Pieroni said.

It's possible the city council could hold a special meeting to address the issue, but so far nothing has been planned, Pieroni said.

Pieroni declined to comment on any of the city's options, saying that any options would have to be discussed in closed session.

If the city decided to appeal to the state supreme court, it would have 30 days to do so, according to document from the city's attorney Steven Koch.

The city originally denied the preliminary plat for part of the development because it “failed to comply with the city's extraterritorial land division requirements,” Koch wrote.

Sho-Deen's plans for the area in question called for 74 lots over 36 acres with an average lot size of 0.36 acres. The city's land division requirements call for a minimum lot size of one acre. Those requirements were established when the city updated its code in February, 2011. The changes were made to bring the city into compliance with state statutes, Koch wrote.

The area where the Sho-Deen Group plans to build was zoned residential when the company bought the land.

The area had been designated “urban density residential” in long-range plans by the town and county with less than five acres per dwelling. The Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission had designated the area for sanitary sewer service.